taking forum advice

[thebelgie24]

yesterday morning i popped up for 18 holes on my own,met up with a guy at the starters box and agreed to go round together.my last post about to much golf was read and the advice given was to put more of a competitive edge to the game ie money so £10 on the round was layed down!front nine was a grind out but my opponents comment of"easy money" seemnd to click somthing inside me,unlike mates banter this struck a chord,back 9,1 birdie,5 pars, 3 bogeys.best back 9 ever,still lost the match but felt like a winner,really knuckeld down and played so thanks guys you made a belgie very happy!

 

[birdieman]

Belgie
Did you play true combat 'mano-a-mano' or were there handicaps involved?
What did he beat you by?

 

[thebelgie24]

true combat birdieman!he beat me 2an1,front 9 really let me down,left a bit of a mountain to clime mate

 

[birdieman]

Tough getting behind early, gotta get your nose in front early for matchplay, piles the pressure on your opponent. 2&1 is respectable, I seem to remember Tiger beating Stephen Ames 9&8 a year or 2 back -Ouch!

 

[madandra]

Nothin' beats bare foot golf. I played a guy off +1 and he was 5h1tt1n6 bricks cos he was one down at the turn.

I got pimped 3 and 2 tho'

 

[thebelgie24]

ah but you took him on madandra you took him on !

 

[John_Findlay]

I think my round today was probably the exact opposite to everything thebelgie24 mentioned.

Played matchplay against one of my best pals over my home course- no money involved- no strokes. Found myself 7 down at the turn after he was one over par (with 2 two's thrown in) against my ridiculous 10 over. Got humped 7&6.

Too late, my game kicks in and I come back in level par with 3 birdies in the last five holes (including another 2). Maybe I should ignore anybody else on the course if I finish like that when the pressure is off.

The moral of the story....I give up!

 

[Dave3498]

Match play is not a very good way to improve the competitive edge. You are playing against someone else's ability and not against the course. If you are going to have a tenner on the game, then play for best nett, or best stableford score. Your game and your handicap are only going to improve by returning a signed card with a score on the bottom. You can beat as many people as you like 9 and 8, or 8 & 7, but all you will get is a few mutterings. Match play scores are often a reflection of how badly someone else has played, not how well you have.

I don't like match play myself. I get fed up of losing holes and the game to opponents who have clearly played a lot worse than I. I can't count the number of times I have played straight down the middle, second shot on the green with a reasonable chance of a birdie, when my opponent, who hasn't hit the fairway or the green, chips in from the edge, leaving me to miss my birdie for a loss. This can go on for the whole game with my fairways amd GIR scores very reasonable, yet I lose to someone who doesn't bother with fairways at all.

Play against the course every time you go out. That is the only way to improve your personal best.